Fodder-cutter.



0,583,392. PATEN'TED MAR.31, 1908. J, DICK.

PDDDER CUTTER. APPLICATION FILED JULY 9, 1907.

4 sinus-SHEET 1.

PATENTED MAR J. DICK".

FODDBR CUTTER.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 9, 1907.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

No; 883,392. PATENT-ED MAR. 31, 1908. J DICK. P013033 CUTTER. APPLICATION FILED JULY 9. 1907 No. 883,392. PATENTED- MAR. 31, 1908.

- J. DICK.

FODDER CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 9, 1907.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

v JOSEPH DICK, or CANTQN, OHIO.

. FODDER-CUTTER.

Original application filed r m-1 2a, 1906,

Specification of Letters Patent.

, Patented aren 31, 1908.

Serial No, 314.142. Divided and this application filed July 9, 1907.

Serial No. 382,964.

Tocll whom it concern:

Be it known that I, J OSEPH Dion, a citizen oftheUnited States, residing at Canton, in

the county of Stark and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fodder-Cutters, of which the'following is a specification.

My invention relates to the feed mechanism 1n machines for cutting fora e and es- .pecially for cutting alfalfa and other similar plants having comparatively tender, weak I ,andlimber stems which are inclined to become tangled and bunched together and also 1 Etc-She broken-by reason of their brittleness when not properly handled and controlled;

and the obilect of the inventionis to provide a feed mec falfa' in its natural. and ordinary loose conanism which will receive the al dition and to'positivelyand forcefully convey-andfeed .the sameto the shearing knives machine in a compressed conproper. action of the cutting machine; This object is attained by the construction, mechanismand arrangement illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which I Y Figure 1 is asectional plan of a fodder cut-' ter and feed trough, with the counter-conveyer removed, showing the general arrangement of the parts; Fig. 2, a detached perspective view showing details of the lower plate of the hopper throat; Fig. 3, a'longitudinal section-of the feed mechanism on line 3+3, Fig. 1; Fig. 4, an enlarged longitudinal section showing the throat of the feed hopper; Fig. 5,'a transverse section of the conveyor-trough on line 55, Fig. 3; Fig. 6, a fragmentary side elevation of the feed hopper and part ofthe fodder cutter case Fig. 7, a detached perspective view showing details of the frame of the copnter-conveyer; Fig. 8, a detached PGISPGOtlVG view of one counter feed-shaft bearing; Fig. 9, a detached pers ective view of one sheet-strip formingthe ace of the counter conveyer; and Fig.

i .10, a transverse vertical section of the feed hopper on line 10-10,- Figs. 1, 3 and 6; with the cover of the 'counter-conveyer frame removed] numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawing.

a The fodder-cutter proper com rises the ..,case 1, having journaled axially t erein the main shaft 2, on which shaft is securely mounted the drive pulley 3 located on the rear side of the case, and the knife disk 4.10

cated inside the case, to which disk are securely attached the cutting knives 5, which knives are adapted to operate as shears against the cutting bar 6 transversely located in the lower side of. the feed aperture 7 formed in the forward wall of the case. These parts are of the character usually employed in fodder cutters of the type employed for illustrating the feed mechanism and do not form any part of this invention.

The feed-frame is formed or attached on the forward side of the case and-comprises the vertical plates 8 located the feedaperture in the wall of the case. The main feed-shaft 9 istransversely j ournaled in the relatively fixed bearings 10 provided in these bearings are adapted to'operate toward -shaft-.

and from the main fee Power is communicated to the main feedshaft from the main shaft by means ofthe cog gearing 14, the longitudinal shaft 15, the reversing bevel gearing 16, the

counter transverse counter shaft 1.7 and the sprocket gearing 18; and power is communicated to slots 13 formed in the the counter feed-shaft from the main feedshaft by means of the coggearing 19', and the counter feed-shaft is suitably jointed, as' shown at 20-, to permit its vertical movements in the slots of the feed frame. various gearings and shafts are mounted in suitable bearings formed or attached on the frame of the machine and form no part of this invention; the main and counter-shafts corresponding to the shafts for the lower and upper feed-rolls usually em loyed infodder These cutters of the type employe for illustrationl The rear end of the feed trough 21 is connected with the feed-frame, and 1s preferabl hinged thereto, as by the vote 22, which ermits a slight vertical a ju-stment of the orward' end of the feed trough which preferably restson legs as 23. .The idle shaft 24 is transversely journaled in-the adjustable bearings 2.5 in the forward art of the feed trough, and the sprocket w eels 26 and27 for the main s rocket conveyor 28 are securely mounted res ectively on the. main feedeshaft 9 and tile idle-shaft 24. longitudinal channels 29 are formed in the bottom ofthe feed tro hforthe operation of l the sprocket chains, an the longitudinal slits The 30 arealso provided in the bottom, through wljiich slits the .teeth 31 of the s' rocket chain are adapted to rotrudeupwar above the bottom of the feed trough, as best 'sh0Wnin Fig. [3. The channels and slits are preferably made? by means ofthe longitudinal woodenstrips 32v which are -s acjed a art the bottom of the feed troug on w -ich strips are. securely attached the longitudinal sheet -metal strips 33which partly overlap -the longitudinal spaces between the wooden stri s. These sheet-metalstrips-formhard. an smooth surfaces which. give little resist.-

ance to the movement of-thealfalfa thereon;-

Thelower' throat-plate 34'of the feed;

'hopper is formed or attached .in thefeed frame at the rear end of the bottom of the feed-trough and forms a continuation thereof to the cutter-bar of the fodder cutter; This plate'is preferably made of the casting 35 which is formed the channels" 29 for the sprocket chainand the sheet metalstrips 33 which ares-paced a art toform thes'lits '30? for the teeth of tie sprocket chain. The longitudinal slots 3.6 are provided in-thecasting through whichth'e sprocket wheels 26,

- are adapted to protude, and at therear end of the casting are provided the downwardly inclined guides 37 spacedapart ,to form the longitu'dinal'slits 88 inwhich slits the sprocket I teeth are ada ted-Itobe guided after thev slits, by means of w hswebeen wit drawn from the slits; 30 be? tween the sheet metal strips bythe rotation of] the sprocket chainsaround the main sprocket wheels"; The rear edges of the guide are tapered awayfro'm each-other, as at '37, thus formingv \l-sha ipd' entrances ..to the ichthe teeth of the I sprocket'are surely guided into the guide 38 and thereby into the longitudinal'slits 30 in case the rotation of the sprocket conveyer is reversed. a p

lhe frame 39 of the counter-conveyor 1S pivoted at its rear end-on the bearings 12- of the counter feed-shaft, as by means of apertures as .40 in. the sides of the frame. The counter-conveyor frame is also pivoted at each side at or near itsforward end, as at 41, to the up 'er ends of the rock links 42 the lower .ends of which links are pivoted to the sides.

of the feed frame, as at 43; which connect-ions permit the forward end of the counterrconveyer to oscillate sufficiently to accommo-. date the vertical movements of therear end caused by the operation of the bearings '12 of the counter feed-shaft in the slots 13 of the feed-frame. 1

The sprocket-gearings for the counterconveyer are composed of the sprocket wheels 44 securely mounted on the counter feed-shaft 11, the sprocket wheels 45 mounted on the transverse idle-shaft 46 which is mounted in the adjustable bearings 47 in the forward end of the counter-conveyer frame, and the conveyor-chains '48 which are provided. with the teeth 49. The longitudinal guides 50 are provided in the frame of the counter-conveyer, between which guides the sprocket chains are adapted to operate, and the face of the frame is com posed of the longitudinal sheet-metal strips 51 slightly spaced apart to form the longitudinal slits 52 through which the teeth of the sprocket chains are adapted to ro-- trude. The upperthroat-plate of the feed hopper is preferably composed of the casting .53 and the forward ends of the sheet-metal face-stri s51. The casting 53 is formed or attache in the counter-conveyer frame and is provided at its rear end with the slots 54 through which the counter sprocket-wheels 44 are adapted to protrude. The rear end of this casting is curved or inclined. rearward and upward to form the guides 55, spaced apart to form the'slits. 56, and having their rear edges Itapered, as at 55, to form V-shaped en trances to these jslit's,toproperly guide the sprocketteeth as described for the rnain con- .veyer sprocket=teethr 'Tl16 rear ends of the sheet-metal. facestrips 51 of the counterconveyer-are extended rearward to a point opposite the 'rearlfends-of the similar facestrips' of the. main 'conveyer and adjacent to thecutter barfi of the'fodder cutter.

-'Th'e .counter-conveyer is inclined downward from It S forwardto its rear end and ts rear'end' is normally located vith its faceplate quite closeto the adjacen face-plate of the main conveyer, thus forming between the main and counter-conveyers a hopper having a wide mouthat the forward end and converging to a constricted throat at its rear end.

The sides 57 of the feed trough are ex tended upward and rearward and are overlapped by the si'des 58 which are formed or attached on the sides" of the feed frame,- thus formingthe side's of-the feed hopper. The.

normal position of the counter-'conveyer is with the bearings. 12 for the counter-shaftresting in the lower endsofthe uide-slots 13,

as shown in the various figures of the drawings.

And it is preferred to arrange the sprocket chains so that the teeth of the counter-conveyer will come between the teeth of the main-conveyor, as shown in Fig. 10. v

The alfalfa is placed in the feed-trough on the teeth of the main-conveyer, which carry it rearward into the hopper wherein the upper'si'de of the alfalfa is engaged by the teeth of the counter-conveyor. The alfalfa is thus fed toward the throat of the hopper by the u antit-y knives. The sprocket-teeth. above and below, continue in engagement with the alfalfa until the same has passed entirely through the constricted throat of-the ho per, whereupon the teeth are withdrawn by the rotation of the sprocket chains around the wheels. the sheet-metal face-stri s of the conveyers hold the alfalfa while t e teeth are being withdrawn from it: and the extended ends of the sheet-metal face-strips of the main conveyer are preferably somewhat diverged from the extended portions of the face-strips of the counter conveyer, which slightly en larges the throat of the hopper towards the cutters, so that there is practically no resistance to the movement of the alfalfa after it has passed the more constricted part of the throat until it has reached the shearing knives of the cutting machine.

By reason of the weak and tender character of the alfalfa it is practically necessary that lowest position, as shown in the several viewstheweight of the counter-conveyer should not rest on it when there is only a small Huantity in the throat of the hopper; but it is esirablethat the pressure of t e up erconveyer should increase as the bulk o alfalfa in the throat of the hopper increases. This desired resultis accomplished by counterbalancing the rear end of the counter-conveyer in a variable manner, as by means of the weight and levers shown in Fig. 10. The transverse levers 59 are ivoted at one end 'to the brackets 60 formeor attached on the under side'of the feed-frame, and at the other end these levers are pivotally connected with the lower ends of the link rods 61, the

upper ends of which rods are connected with the bearings 12 of the counter feed-shaft.

The balancing lever 62 is-pivoted as at 63 to the lower side of the feed-frame at one side of the middle line thereof, and at the inner end is connectedby the links 64 with the transverse levers at or near the middle thereof. The adjustable weight 65 is attached on the outer free end of the balancing lever, and the parts are so arranged and adjusted that'when the balancing lever is at or near a horizontal position, the weight thereon will a proximately balance the counter-conveyer w en it is in its of.-the drawings, It is evident that as the counter-conveyer is elevated by the pressure of the alfalfa, the weighted endof the balancing lever will gravitate downward, and as it' approaches the vertical lines-4: passing t lessen, so that the pressure of the we' ht of the counter-conveyer on the alfalfa wi like 1, A feed hopper forza forage-cutter and' the like, comprismg opposed-faced variably The rearwardly extended ends ofroughthe fulcrum pivot of the lever, its counter-balancing effect will gradually balanced separable conveyors having longitudinal slits therein, the faces being converged to form a throat and thence extended toward the cutters, and teeth protruded through the slits and adapted to operate toward and .throu h the beginnin of thethroat and to be with rawn' into the s its in the extended parts of the faces.

3. A feed-hopper for a forage-cutter and the like coni risin opposed-faced conveyers adapted to e .a justed. apart and having longitudinal slits therein, the faces bein converged to form a constricted throat and thence diverged toward the cutters, and teeth protruded through the slits and ada ted to beoperated toward and through t e constricted throat and to be withdrawn into the slits in the diverged parts of the faces. 4. A feed-hopper for a forage-cutter and the like corn risin opposed-facedconveyers adapted to e a justed apart and having longitudinal slits therein, the faces being converged to form a throat and thence extended, toward the cutters, and teeth protruded through the slits and adapted to operate toward and throu h the beginnin of the throat and to be with rawn into the s ts in the extended parts of the faces.

5. feed-hopper for a forage-cutterand the like comprising opposed-faced conveyers having longitudinal slits therein, the faces being converged to form a constricted throat and thence diverged towardthe cutters, and

teeth protruded throughthe slits and adapted to be operated toward and. through the constricted throat and to be withdrawn into the slits in the diverged parts of the faces.

6. A feed-hopper for a forage-cutter and the like comprising opposed-facedconveyers I having longitudinal-slits therein, the faces.

being converged to form a throat and thence extended toward the cutters, and teeth rotruded through the slits and: adapte to olperate toward and throu h the beginnin of t 'e throat and to be with rawn into the-s 'ts in the extended parts of the faces.

7. In a hopper composed'ofi converging sprocket-chain oonveyers, a face-plate hav- 111g longitudinal-slits therein adapted to receive' the chain-teeth, a guide-plate having slots-therein adapted to receive the sprocketwheels and forwardly exten g slits adapted to recei ve thesprocket-wheels and forwardly extend" the chain-teeth, the vguide-slitshaving their slits adeptedto-receive and guide forward edges tapered to form V-shaped en-- slits in the guide-plate adaptedto receive and trances-to 'the slits.- v Y guide the chain-teetl1,'and the guide-s1its l0 8. Ina hopper composed of converging having thei-rf rWmd edges tapered to form sprocketechain conveyers, a face-plate hav- V-shaped' entrances to the slits. 5' ing longitudinal-slits, therein adapted to Te JOSEPH:D1CK.

ceive the ChfllfbtGGth, a guide-plate under the Witnesses: face-plate and adjacent to the outer-sides qf F. J. DICK,

the sprocket-wheels, there being longitudinal C. F. DICK. 

